Medical pumps can be used to treat a variety of physiological, psychological, and emotional conditions. For some medical conditions, medical pumps can restore an individual to a more healthful condition and a fuller life. For example, medical pumps may be used for chronic delivery of therapeutic agents, such as drugs. As one specific example, a medical pump may be used to deliver insulin to a diabetic patient. Other examples include delivery of pain relief medication, e.g., to the intrathecal or epidural space of a patient, to alleviate chronic pain.
Some medical pumps are implantable. Implantable medical pumps may be implanted at a location in the body of a patient and deliver a fluid medication through a catheter to a selected delivery site within the body of a patient. Typically, a catheter connects to an outlet of a medical pump outlet and delivers a therapeutic agent at a programmed infusion rate to a predetermined location to treat a medical condition. An implantable medical pump is implanted by a clinician into a patient at a location that interferes as little as practicable with patient activity. For example, implantable medical pumps are often implanted subcutaneously in the lower abdomen of a patient. Implantable medical pumps may include self-sealing fluid reservoirs accessible through ports to facilitate in-service refilling by percutaneous injection.